Jack's Children: The Xylophone Band
by Monica Ronovitch
Summary: The tale of Jack and Sally Skellington's two daughters and two sons and their adventures as they encounter Lock, Shock, and Barrel and try form a Xylophone Band. Chapter five is here! Reviews, please!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the movie characters… I just made up the names of the kids mentioned in the Closing Lyrics from the soundtrack and made the kids personalities… movie characters are completely Tim Burton's…

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"Jack, call the children for dinner," said Sally, Jack's ragdoll wife. She was wearing her usual dress, along with a patched black and orange cooking apron. For dinner tonight, she had made snake fillets with mashed eyeballs, a special treat. Hearing no response from her husband, she turned around, frowning slightly, but immediately covered her mouth with her hand in suprise when she saw him.

Jack Skellington had fallen asleep in a rickety dogwood chair, his head leaning over the back, and his limbs splayed in four different directions. His mouth was open slightly, and as Sally watched, he made some non-committal noise and tilted his head in a different angle. Sally put down the plate of snake fillets and mashed eyeballs that she had been holding upon the table in front of Jack. She stepped back and watched expectantly as the delicious scents wafted up to Jack's nostrils.

Immediately, he stirred, sitting up straight, rubbing his eyes, and yawning. "Where am I?" he asked before he opened his eyes. Then he saw Sally. "Hello, dearest. When's dinner?"

She smiled at him. "As soon as you find the children and they're ready to eat. It's snake fillets with mashed eyeballs tonight."

"My favorite!" Jack stood up quickly, and nearly tripped over the chair in his haste to go out the door. "I'll go hunt those little rascals down! Keep the food warm for me, Sally!" he called as he walked out his front door and down the steps.

Strolling quickly through the streets of Halloween Town, Jack passed the town square and the meeting house before locating the ever-aging street band who had played the bass, the concertina, and the saxophone for as long as he could remember. They were located near the gate just outside Dr. Finkelstein's imposing home, playing their dirge-like tunes that never seemed the same, even after all these years.

"Hello, there!" Jack waved as he walked up to them. "Have you by any chance seen my children?"

"They're-" began the little man in the bass before suddenly being interrupted by the sound of xylophones being played very quickly. Jack nodded his thanks and followed the noise.

He found his children sitting in an alley, practicing on their various bone xylophones that Santa Clause had given them last Christmas. His two daughters, Jane and Mary, were bent over their yellow-white xylophones, pounding the keys faster than Jack's eyes could follow. Both of his daughters wore rag-doll dresses like their mother, but then the similarities wore out. While both daughters had full heads of hair, Mary wore hers cut short, in a boyish fashion just covering her skull, while Jane wore her long, flowing hair pulled back in a tight braide that trailed down her back like a rat's tail.

Jack's three sons, on the other hand, were leaning against trash cans and the walls of the alley, beating out random rythms that blended perfectly with their sisters' melodious tunes. Both boys, Paul and Ron, resembled their father identically- from skull to long, bony limbs and flexible fingers. They wore suits just like their father, but Ron's suit was dark blackish-blue, and Paul's was dark blackish-green.

For a moment, Jack just stood there, listening to the odd music originating from his children's xylophones, but the memory of what they were to have for dinner shook him back into action. "It's time for dinner," he said, his voice interrupting their music. Startled, Paul nearly dropped his instrument, but Mary caught it before it landed on the hard cobblestones of the street.

"What are we having?" asked Jane as she put away her xylophone, her voice calm and soothing just like her mother's.

"Snake fillets with mashed eyeballs!" Jack announced happily. "And your mother wants you to come home right away so that we can eat while the food is still warm."

"Mother wants us to get home before the food gets cold?" Ron asked skeptically, a grin on his face. "What about you, Father?"

"What about me?" Jack asked solemnly, acting confused and innocent. "I'm just relaying your mother's wishes."

"But we all know that snake fillets are your favorite meal," said Jane.

"And I think it's you who wants us home before the food gets cold," piped in little Mary.

Jack threw his hands into the air, laughing. "All right, all right. You've figured out my devious plot to get home before the food gets cold. But can we get home before the food gets cold anyway?"

"NO!" the children cried in unison before breaking out in laughter.

"You're all out to kill me a second time," Jack said dramatically, striking a woeful pose.

"Let's get home, Father," said Paul. "I want to eat a warm meal too."

The children grabbed their xylophone cases and walked with Jack out of the alley towards their home. Little Mary and Ron handed Jack their instrument cases so that they could race home in order to tell Sally that Jack had found them and everyone was on their way.

Jack watched his youngest children race away, and then turned to his oldest child, Paul. "What in the world gave you the idea to practice in that alleyway?" he asked, all laughter gone from his face. "You know that Oogie's Children could have kidnapped you all and then your mother and I would have never seen you again."

Paul's eyes narrowed at this unexpected rebuke. "I've never even seen Oogie's Children, Father."

"And it's a good thing you haven't!" Jack exclaimed. "Lock, Shock, and Barrel are not the type of people any Skellington should be seen associating with!"

"But you had them help you kidnap Santa Claus!" Paul cried indignantly. "You're being a hypocrite."

Jack was taken aback by his son's accusation. Santa Claus took care to regal the family with tales of Jack's attempt to take over Christmas nearly eighteen years ago, and Jack knew that his son's words were true. He _was_ being a hypocrite, but Oogie's children had grown into adults exactly like their father. Shock, the oldest of the trio and the only girl, had grown into a beautiful, seductive young witch, and Jack had seen many of the younger denizens of Halloween look at her in what could be called an overly friendly manner. Lock, the middle child of Oogie, had evolved into a handsome, sallow-skinned devil, while the youngest child, Barrel, had remained pudgy and round but had won the hearts of any unlucky girl that he wanted through his deceptively charming voice and endearing appearance. It was with good intentions that Jack kept his children away from Oogie's, because they were old enough to want revenge for their father's death at Jack's hands.

"I know, I know, Paul," Jack said. "But Oogie's children have become much more dangerous and evil when I enlisted their aid."

Paul gave Jack a sullen glance and, realizing that he had lost this battle, sank into silence. Jane, Jack's second child, immediately struck up a cheerful chatter about the progress they had made with their xylophones, and Jack listened intently until they reached their house.

Sally was waiting at the door, and she shook her head disapprovingly as Jack walked through the door. "You took much longer than I expected, Jack. The food got cold." Jack gave her a peck on the cheek and a wink as he walked to the table, where his children were sitting expectantly. "But I heated it up and it should taste just as good," Sally finished as she sat down.

The family said grace, and then began to eat…

_So this is my first Nightmare Before Christmas fanfic, and I would love to have reviews telling me what you did or didn't like about the story (I'll get Chapter Two up after I finish this Document-Based Essay for school). Please, tell me what you think; constructive criticism is always welcome!_


	2. Chapter 2

_My thanks to all of you who reviewed- you know who you are. I'm glad you enjoyed Chapter One! And, as promised, I finished my Document Based Essay and I've written Chapter Two! I hope you like it!_

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Jack or Sally or Lock, Shock, or Barrel. I've just adjusted them to fit the current time period. Paul, Ron, Mary, and Jane are MINE! Steal them and you die. _

After dinner and a desert of iced marrow, Jack sent the children upstairs to get ready for bed and helped Sally clean the dishes. For a while, they just worked in silence, merely enjoying each other's presence. And as Jack relaxed, he remembered his conversation with Paul.

"Sally, have you heard much about Lock, Shock, and Barrel recently?" he asked as he dried a plate and placed it in a cupboard where it belonged.

Sally stopped washing the cup she was holding in her hands and looked over at Jack. "They're much worse then they were as children, or so Mr. Corpse's wife has told me. She says that they're always holed up in that dilapidated house of Oogie's." Jack sighed. At least they weren't out in the streets then. Sally looked at her husband, her eyes filled with concern. "Why, Jack?"

"I found the kids in a back alley playing their xylophones," he said.

"But that's alright, Jack. Remember, we said that they could play their instruments around town," Sally said as she resumed cleaning the cup.

"But a back alley, Sally. One of Oogie's children could have found them," Jack said. "And when I told Paul that he shouldn't have let them practice there, he called me a hypocrite and didn't really listen when I explained that Lock, Shock, and Barrel have changed."

Sally didn't answer, and they finished the dishes in silence. When they finished, she gave Jack a hug. "Don't worry, Jack. I'll talk to Paul, and then everything will be fine," she said. Jack's expression crinkled into one of doubt, but before he could say anything, Sally gave him a quick kiss. "Trust me, Jack. Everything will turn out fine."

"Ewww! Mommy and Daddy are _kissing_!" cried Mary from her perch on the railing of the steps that led upstairs. "Janey! They're _kissing!_"

"Mary, you'll kiss someone when you're older," Jane called from her room. "So don't say ew. Watch and learn," she continued as she joined Mary on the railing.

Jack looked at his wife with a look that said _we never get a moment alone anymore_, and let go of Sally. Before he did, Sally returned his look with one of her own that said _you wanted children, and it's your fault that we had two daughters_. Jack laughed and then walked over to his daughters.

"I think it's time for my favorite little eight-year old to go to bed!" he cried, scooping her off the railing into his arms. "And as for you, Jane," he said, noticing that she was still in her day clothes, "I think it's time for all thirteen year old girls to get ready for bed."

"Aww, Father, do I have to?" Jane asked, her face scrunched up into something that almost resembled a dead puppy's expression. Jack gave her a look that said it all, and she hurriedly ran up the stairs.

"Why did you kiss Mommy?" Mary asked Jack from her spot in his arms, looking up at him with a quite serious expression on her face. "Were you bored?"

Jack laughed and gently placed a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "No, Mary. It's because I love her very much."

"Then do you love me very much? Why do you only kiss Mommy on the lips?"

"You're just a bundle of questions," Jack said as he started up the steps with Mary. "Of course I love you very much! And I only kiss Mommy on the lips because she's my wife, and your mother."

"So does that mean Paul is married to that girl we saw?" Mary asked, her expression the epitome of curiosity.

Instantly, Jack felt all the happiness drain out of his body. Carefully, he maintained a smile, and said, "What girl?"

"She was really pretty. We saw her when we were looking for a place to play, and when we found that alley, Paul said that he had dropped something and left. I followed him, but he doesn't know I saw him. The girl was waiting for him an alley near ours, and she gave him a hug and a _real _long kiss," Mary said.

"Mary, could you do me a favor?" Jack asked, having already figured out who Paul's "friend" really was. "If you ever see her around Paul again, could you let me know right away?" They walked into Mary's room and Jack gently tucked her into her bed.

"Why, Daddy? Is Paul in trouble?" Mary asked, unusually wary for such a little girl.

Jack shook his head and kissed Mary on her forehead once more. "No," he lied. "I just like meeting my children's friends." He walked to the door and cracked it. "Good night, Mary," he said.

"G'night, Daddy," Mary said, burrowing under her covers.

Jack found Ron practicing on an old bone whistle in Jack's room. "What are you doing in here, Ron?" he asked.

"I couldn't hear myself practicing because Paul has his music turned up too loud," Ron said, putting the whistle in a little wooden case. Jack sighed. Was all he was ever going to hear about Paul going to be bad news?

"I'll talk to him after Jane goes to bed," Jack promised. "But now it's time for you to go to bed." He swooped down and scooped up Ron and tossed him up into the air before catching him again and proceeding downstairs to Ron's bedroom.

"But I'm eleven!" Ron cried indignantly as Jack carried him upside down. "I'm old enough to stay up late!"

"After this Halloween, I think your mother and I will let you," Jack said as he dropped his son on his bed. "But until then, you have to go to bed early."

"Aww… Come on, Father. Let me stay up late, just this once! I'll never ask you again."

"Sorry, Ron," Jack said, tucking his son into bed. "But not tonight."

Ron sighed unhappily and then said, "Tomorrow night?"

"Why don't you ask your mother?" Jack said. "Goodnight, Ron."

"Goodnight, Father," Ron said, yawning widely. "See you in the morning."

"Bright and early," Jack said, closing Ron's door all the way.

He walked down the hallway to Jane's room, but to his surprise, she was already in bed and asleep. "Amazing," he muttered as he placed a goodnight kiss on her left cheek. "Sweet dreams, princess."

And then Jack left Jane's room and knocked on Paul's door.

Paul had been lying on his bed, listening to a new band on the Halloween Radio called "I'm Greatful to be Dead." In his opinion, they weren't that bad, with a xylophone for melodies, a concertina for harmony, and a lead singer who knew his music.

His thoughts drifted back to the events earlier that day, just after lunch when he had gone out to scout for a place for him and his siblings to play their xylophones. He'd wandered through some back alleys, behind the Town Hall, but none of them were really easy to get to, and they were filthy. As he had tried to get back to the town square, he'd gotten lost, and bumped into a beautiful witch.

"I'm sorry," he'd said awkwardly, helping her up from the mucky streets. Never in his life had he seen anyone so beautiful. "I'm afraid I'm lost."

The witch had laughed and held onto his bony hand a bit longer than was necessary for her to get up. "I can tell. I've got to get out of here anyway, so I can help you get out of here," she had said. Paul had murmured his thanks, and she had laughed. "You're rather quiet. Are you a Skellington?" Paul had nodded bashfully. The witch had tilted her head prettily as she thought. "You must be the oldest one… Are you Paul?"

Paul had nodded, already caught by her beauty. "Yea." He didn't even question how she had known. "I've got to get back to my house to get my siblings so that we can go practice our xylophones," he said as the Town Hall's bell broke the awkward moment.

The witch had helped him out of the maze of back alleys. "Why don't you meet me in the alleys near Dr. Finkelstein's Laboratory?" she asked. "Just say you forgot something and come and meet me for a few moments."

Paul had nodded and hurriedly waved goodbye as he ran home.

And then, after he had found his siblings a place to practice, he'd met with the witch nearby.

"You came!" the witch had cried happily. "I was so worried. I thought you'd forgotten about me."

Hesitantly, Paul had said, embarrassed, "I could never forget someone as beautiful as you." And before he'd known what he was doing, the witch was in his arms, looking coyly up at him.

"You're a very handsome skeleton," she'd said quietly, very quietly.

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met," he'd said, meeting her eyes, falling into their depths. "You're just the perfect height…" And then he had kissed her, slowly, passionately. And to his surprise, she hadn't pulled away, she hadn't turned away, she hadn't stopped the kiss. Instead, she'd only deepened it. And he'd gently pushed her up against the wall, kissing her, loosing track of the time.

Finally she'd broken the kiss and leant against him. "You'd better go," she'd whispered. "Your family will be missing you." And so he had gone.

Jack knocked on his son's door again, harder. "Paul, please let me in." The door clicked and opened, blasting Jack's eardrums with the sound of heavy Halloween rock. Paul was lying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. Jack closed the door and turned off the radio. His son looked up indignantly, but sighed and sat up.

"What do you want?" he demanded, unhappy that he had been interrupted during his memories of the witch.

"We need to talk, Paul," Jack said, sitting down at Paul's desk chair. "What in the name of Halloween is wrong with you? You've been skulking around alleys with mysterious witches, back-talking me, and you're being discourteous to your siblings. Tell me what is going on."

Paul shrugged, his face carefully blank. Inside, he was furious. Who had told his father about the witch? "Nothing's going on, Father. I'm just sick of the same old thing day in and day out. I want to do something _different_."

"Did you even know the name of the witch you were skulking around with, Paul?" Jack asked, recognizing his own former restlessness in his son.

"We weren't skulking around, Father," Paul said sullenly. "We were hanging out." _You were doing a lot more than that, _Jack thought.

"I don't want to hear any more bad things about you, Paul. Clean your act up." Jack left, closing the door, leaving Paul alone in his room.

Paul stared at the door for a few moments and then changed and climbed into his bed. Perhaps he would have dreams of the beautiful witch…

_Review! Otherwise I won't post the next chapter…_


	3. Chapter 3

_My thanks to those who reviewed… I'm just glad at least one person reads this story… So here's Chapter Three.._

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Jack, Sally, Lock, Shock, Barrel, or the Mayor. Or the Halloween jazz band. But the rest of the people are mine. Steal them and I bite your head off…_

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"What were you up to yesterday, Shock?" asked Barrel, awakening his older sister with the sound of his voice as he sat down on her bed next to her. "Lock was distraught. We couldn't find you anywhere."

Shock rubbed her eyes drearily and slowly sat up, shaking away her blankets and sheets before registering what Barrel had said. What had she been doing yesterday? Oh, yes… "I was wandering the back alleys of the town," she said, pushing Barrel off the bed so that she could get up. Her nightgown, which was a sleeveless black satin that went down to her ankle, made swooshing sounds as she walked into the bathroom which was connected to her room.

Barrel sat back down on Shock's mussed up bed as she closed the door and got dressed. "I heard that the Skellingtons were around yesterday," he called through the closed door. "Did you get a good look at them?"

Shock grinned wryly to herself as she finished pulling on her witch's dress. "Yes, Barrel dear, I did," she replied as she began applying some black eyeshadow to her face.

Barrel grinned greedily, and pulled out a lollipop and began eating it. When Shock exited the bathroom, he turned his gaze away from his lollipop in order to stare out the window. "I want them dead," he said. "We've waited long enough, Shock. They need to pay for what they did to our father."

At his words, Shock winced, but she didn't know why. She'd always wanted the Skellingtons dead, just like her brothers, even though when she was little, Oogie hadn't been the greatest man, and she had hated them. In fact, it almost seemed ridiculous for her and her brothers to go gallivanting off after the Skellingtons.

But now… something was wrong. Her plan to seduce the oldest Skellington child, Paul, had worked, even though she was eight years older than him. And it had been too easy. He'd never kissed anyone before, she could tell, because he had been nervous, and she saw the look of triumphant surprise in his eyes when he had pulled back. Why did he have to be so innocent?

Shock realized that Barrel had stopped ranting about the Skellingtons and was staring intently out the window of their house. "What is it?" she asked him, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"There they are, Shock. There that murderous family is," Barrel growled, pointing at the Skellington house off in the distance.

Shock squinted as she tried to see why Barrel was suddenly so angry, and then almost gasped with surprise as she saw the entire Skellington tramping down their front steps, Jack leading the way, carrying two xylophone cases. Sally was just behind him, carrying the other two cases, and their children trailed after them. Shock saw the two youngest children- what were there names again? Ron and Mary- close behind their parents, while Jane was the last child out of the door. Paul was there, and Shock felt something inside her twist painfully as she watched him walk down the steps, talking jovially with Jane. And then suddenly, he broke off his conversation, and stared directly at Shock, or at least, at the window where she was watching him with Barrel. For a moment, time stood still, and then Paul resumed walking.

"What's wrong with you, Shock?" Barrel demanded. Startled, Shock realized that she was breathing as if she had just climbed up several flights of steps. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Of course," Shock replied hastily, regaining control of her breathing.

"Watching the Skellingtons again, dearest siblings?" came a low, silky voice. "I think it's becoming an obsession…"

Barrel hopped off Shock's bed, dropping his lollipop on the ground as he stood up. "Look who decided to sleep in. Have some good nightmares, Lock?" he asked, giving his brother a quick hug.

"When do I not, Barrel dearest?" Lock replied, mussing with his younger brother's slicked down hair. He looked over at Shock, who was still staring out the window. "What's wrong, Shock? You look like some tragic heroine who's just lost her husband to some terrible monster."

Shock turned away from the window and got up. There was no point watching the house anymore- the Skellingtons were off for a day in the town. "I think we should say hello to the Skellingtons, Brothers," she said, slipping on some boots. "It's been a few years, hasn't it?"

The Skellingtons were off to play a special xylophone concert for the mayor of Halloween, and once they had left their home, they quickly made their way to the Mayor's home, just off of the town square. Paul had a rather bad headache, because he had stayed up rather late listening to his music (turned down of course- his father would have grounded him if he had known Paul was up so late) and thinking of the witch.

He didn't even know her name, and he realized that he should have asked her it before he had returned for the night. Perhaps if he wandered the back alleys again, just maybe, he might see her again. Or perhaps she was just a visiting witch who just like randomly kissing strangers. It hurt Paul to even think that she might have just been using him for fun.

Love at first sight happened, didn't it? After all, his mother and father were practically strangers until Jack had his famous "Christmas Vision." And who in Halloween could deny that they had loved each other before then? Paul sighed. He didn't like the way that this witch had suddenly turned his usually organized brain into a clutter of thoughts.

"What's wrong, Paul?" Mary asked, slowing down to tug on his hand to catch his attention. "Why'd you sigh like that?"

Paul looked down at Mary, surprised. "I've got a really bad headache, and I think playing a concert for the Mayor is going to make it worse."

"So you aren't in trouble?"

Where had she gotten that idea from? Their father had made certain that Mary was out of earshot when he scolded Paul. Perhaps she had been kept up by the loud music, and figured that their father would punish Paul for his inconsideration. "No, I'm not in trouble, Mary," Paul said. "I just have a really bad headache."

"D'ya think that if you didn't play in the concert, it would get better?" Mary asked, her face twisted into an expression of thoughtfulness.

"Probably. Why?" But Mary was already gone, tugging on Jack and Sally's hands, and talking hurriedly at them. Paul watched them, a slight smile on his face. Mary was a precious little girl, and if she ever learned to keep a secret, she'd be a great wife for some lucky person one day.

Ron and Jane were singing some Halloween carol, one that they had made up to go with the new xylophone song that Paul had composed a few weeks ago, and Paul tried to block the sound of their voices out as he looked at their surroundings. The Skellingtons were up early, just after dawn, and Halloween's Town Square looked like a no-man's land. There was no one on the streets, and Paul tried to look down the alleys that they passed. Once, he thought he saw someone who looked like the witch from yesterday, but she was traveling with two other men, raucously singing twisted Halloween Carols.

The family arrived at the Mayor's house, and Jack and Sally handed out their instruments as Ron knocked on the front door. The Mayor opened the door, his depressed face looking around at the world until he saw who was at the door. Immediately, his happy face appeared, like a mask.

"Welcome, welcome, Skellingtons!" he cried gleefully. "Come on in." The Mayor led the way inside, and Sally led Jane, Ron, and Mary after him. Paul reluctantly started to follow, but Jack stopped him from entering the door.

"Mary says you've got a headache," Jack said quietly, his expression serious. "Is she telling the truth?"

"Father, when does little Mary ever lie?" Paul asked, laughing softly. Then he stopped laughing. "I have a killer headache, Father." Jack looked at him with concern, and Paul felt like he was being examined under a microscope. "Seriously."

"How on earth did you manage to get a headache?" Jack asked his oldest son, frowning.

Paul realized that it would be better if he didn't lie. "I stayed up late listening to the Halloween Radio. I know I'm not supposed to, but-"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "No radio tonight, son. You have to go to bed at the same time as Ron, and if you ever stay up like that again, I'll make you sleep up in the spare room." The spare room was just that- an empty room with no furnishings, no furniture, and no window. The door was always locked, and Jack and Sally threatened their children with the room whenever they were bad.

Paul sighed and looked down at the ground for a few moments. "Alright," he said grudgingly.

"You can go home and wait for us there," Jack said. "Get a little more sleep, and take some dogbane. It'll ease the pain."

Surprised and elated, Paul turned to head home, but suddenly looked at his father once more. "But the concert- what will the Mayor say?"

"I think your mother would be more than happy to take your place. She's rather multi-talented, you know," Jack said, grinning. "Now, go home. Everything will be fine."

Paul walked down the front steps of the Mayor's house and started across the Town Square. How on earth did he manage to get out of that? But his jubilation was erased when the sunlight caught his eyes, sending throbbing pains shivering down his brain. He needed to get home, and fast.

The streets were already impossibly busy, choked with denizens of Halloween Town who had just finished their breakfasts. The noise of conversations assaulted Paul's ears, and with a cry of pain, he fled into the darker back alleys. He knew these ones well enough to get home safely without a problem.

Relieved to be free from the press of the crowd, Paul forgot to look where he was going, and bumped into a wall. Stars exploded in front of his eyes, and he fell down, forgetting himself in this sudden outburst of more pain.

Suddenly cool hands were helping him to his feet, and helping him lean against the brick wall. "Are you all right?"

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_There ends Chapter Three. Who in Halloween could this person be? _

_Review, and I shall enlighten you with a Chapter Four!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for reviewing, amiga. This chapter's for you…. _

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jack, Sally, the Mayor, the Halloween Jazz Band, Lock, Shock, or Barrel. The Skellington offspring are mine. Steal them and die… although, borrowing with permission is allowed…

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**Chapter Four**

Paul's vision cleared, and he looked at the face of the person who had helped him to his feet. He blinked once, then twice, and then a third time in disbelief. It was the witch! Motion behind her caught his eyes, and he watched as a tall and a short shadow disappeared into the Halloween Town Square. Then he returned his attention to the witch.

"Are you all right?" she asked again, concern written all over her face.

Paul smiled slightly, pleased to know she cared. "I've just got a headache and a bump on my head," he said. "How are you?"

The witch smiled, and started walking with him down the alley. "I'm alright," she said, her voice subdued but buoyant. "I saw you leave your house this morning, and my brothers and I decided to go for a walk. Whatever happened to your family?" she inquired. "I thought you were with them."

Paul's smile faded away. "They're at the Mayor's house, holding a xylophone concert for him. I'd be there now, but a concert would have just made my headache worse. Father decided it would be alright for me to go home on my own." For a few moments, they walked in companionable silence, and then Paul spoke again. "You have brothers?"

The witch nodded. "They're both younger than me, but Lock acts like he's older. Barrel's just a fat nuisance, always eating lollipops and waking me up when I want to sleep," she said. She continued walking for a few moments until she realized that Paul was no longer walking with her. "What are you doing?" she asked, turning around to see him staring at her in shock. "Paul, what's the matter?"

Paul's mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were wide with disbelief. "Then you're Shock," he said, his voice conveying his feeling of betrayal. He started backing up, inching away from her.

Unexpectedly, Shock's eyes filled with tears. His words cut her deep, and his actions were tearing her apart inside as she realized he must think she had seduced him on purpose. Well, she had, at first, but there was something inside that was hurting her more than any physical blow could have, and Shock didn't think that she could pretend she didn't care about him any more.

"Paul, please, just listen to what I have to say," Shock began, walking closer to him. "I can explain."

Paul's eyes were narrowed now, and Shock realized that something was very, very wrong. "I don't want to hear it," he said, his voice hard. And as Shock tried to give him a hug, he twisted out of her arms and took off in the direction of his house, leaving her standing there with her face wet with tears.

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Paul flopped down on his bed after taking some worm's wart for his headache. How could he have been so stupid? She was _Shock_, the witch, the temptress, the evil daughter of Oogie. How could he have believed that she loved him? How could he have loved _her_? She was in her twenties! How could he have fallen for her?

Paul realized that he was crying, and the more he tried to forget about her, the more he remembered her hurt expression in the alley. She was just acting. All of Oogie's children were known for being good actors and playing off of other people's emotions. He was just one of many who had fallen for their tricks.

What would his father say? Probably something along the lines of, "I told you so," although in different words with a more polite phrasing. How could he have been so incredibly _stupid_? His body shook with sobs as Paul cried into his pillow, trying to force himself to believe that he never loved Shock.

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Shock sat on her bed, look at the Skellington house through her window. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her eye-shadow was smudged and marred by her tears. Watching a window on the second floor, Shock saw a skeletal figure flop forwards, and realized that it must be Paul.

_Paul…_

He must be hurting so badly. And he must think she had intended to seduce and betray him to her brothers. Why was she hurting so much? She couldn't have fallen in love with him. And so Shock, just like Paul, tried to tell herself that she had never loved him. Except Shock knew the truth. And Paul didn't.

Angrily, she closed the shades and went up to the spare room at the top of the house. Her brothers never went there, and although it didn't have a bed, it did have a pile of old scraps of moth-eaten cloth and blankets, so Shock could safely fall asleep there. Before she collapsed on the clothes, she looked out at the Skellington house from the panoramic windows, but there was no sign of Paul.

And Shock drifted off into sleep, oblivious to the world around her.

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"Where's Paul?" Sally asked Ron as she placed dinner on the table. She had made fried batwings, Jane's favorite, and no one had seen Paul at all once they had arrived after having lunch over the Mayor's house.

Ron shrugged, and picked some of the fried crust off of the batwing on top. "I dunno," he said.

Sally rapped his hand with a serving spoon. "Don't pick at the food. Go call everyone for dinner and find Paul." Ron nodded and brushed past Jack on his way up the stairs. "I just sent Ron to find Paul and the others for dinner," she said to her husband.

"Paul's sound asleep," Jack replied, giving his wife an affectionate hug while discreetly picking at the batwing crust. He popped it in his mouth before Sally could stop him. "I think he's just catching on the sleep he missed last night while getting a head start on tonight as well."

"He never sleeps this much," Sally said worriedly. "I think something's wrong, Jack."

Jack laughed. "We've reversed our positions on the matter, I see," he said, recalling their discussion the previous night. Their current conversation was cut short as Jane, Mary, and Ron pounded down the steps and ran over to the dinner table.

"Paul's asleep," Mary said officially. "I think he got all wore out walking home."

Ron snickered, and Jane elbowed him sharply. Jane had educated Ron and Mary on just why Paul might be so tired once she'd gotten Mary to divulge the news that Paul had been kissing a witch. Mary had found it amazing that it was possible to burn an amazing amount of calories just by kissing, and wouldn't shut up about it.

Jack gave his children a questioning look, but decided to take Mary's words at face value and led the family in grace.

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Paul awoke sometime after both his parents and all of his siblings had gone to bed. He snuck downstairs quietly, and made his way to the cold-box. He popped some leftover batwings into a container and placed them on burner of the stove just long enough for them to warm up. Then he placed them into a spare kerchief and tied it shut before quietly opening the door and walking out of the house.

The Halloween Jazz Band was playing by the gate, and they looked up as Paul walked by.

"Where are you off to, bone child?" asked the concertina player.

Paul shrugged. "No where in particular," he said, continuing to walk. His bony feet clipped against the cobblestones, the noise annoying Paul. He sighed, and with that sigh, he expressed the pain he was feeling, the exhaustion. No longer paying attention to his surroundings, Paul wandered into the graveyard and slumped against a tombstone near a small garden plot where deadly nightshade grew.

The waning crescent moon dimly lit the landscape as he pulled out a batwing and began to eat it as if he hadn't eaten in days. Once he had finished them, he relaxed, looking up at the stars and watched as they flickered and twinkled. Perhaps life could go on after all, he thought.

And then the cemetery gate creaked open. _Oh, no. Please, no,_ thought Paul, immediately dreading this new arrival. It was too late for him to hide, so he looked down at his black and white checked kerchief and looked for crumbs. Footsteps walked towards him, paused, and then walked a little closer.

"Paul?" Shock asked, looking at the skeleton boy who was sitting on the ground.

"What do you want?" he asked quietly, not looking up. He could see the edge of her skirt and her feet peeking out from under it out of the corner of his eyes.

"Paul, listen to me. Look at me!" Reluctantly, Paul looked up. To his surprise, Shock's eyeshadow was smudged and marred, and it looked as if she had been crying. And the expression on her face- it hurt him to look at it, but he knew it must be showing what she felt, because no actress could ever fake that pain, that hurt that Shock's face was showing. "I know what you think, Paul," Shock continued, taking a step closer. "You think I wanted to get closer to you so that my family could get revenge on your family."

Paul folded up his kerchief and stood up, looking down at Shock. "And if I do?"

"But I don't, Paul. Maybe I did yesterday afternoon when we kissed. I wanted to do exactly that. But something went wrong with my plans, Paul. And now it hurts me inside to look at you, knowing that you think I want you dead. I don't hold a vendetta against you like my brothers do anymore." Shock took another step closer, bringing her almost up against Paul. "Please, Paul. Trust me. Believe me."

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_I would have written more, but I have to go to bed as soon as the parents of the kids I am babysitting come home… so give me one review, and Chapter Five will arrive!_


	5. Chapter 5

_I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to write this chapter- midterms and the workload afterwards have been murder. I should be writing another DBE and a research paper now, but I need a brain-break. _

**Disclaimer: **Just the kids are of my own invention. Everyone knows that the rest of the characters are Tim Burton's.

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**Chapter Five**

Paul was torn in two. He had always been raised to believe that Oogie's Children were evil, but here was Shock, begging him to trust her. Of course, it could just be part of her plot to kill him, but he didn't think that an actress would let herself look so bedraggled and wasted away. And there was something in Shock's eyes. Something that told him he could trust her.

"Alright," he said, giving Shock a hug. If she was going to kill him, it would be on her conscience.

Shock almost cheered aloud as his arms enfolded her, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. Thank you, so much," she whispered.

They stood there for a few moments, lit only by the dim crescent moon, embracing. And then they heard the sound of cemetery gate opening. Together, they tried to hide behind a tombstone shaped like a tortured horse from a chess game, but as they peered around the tombstone, something tapped Paul's shoulder.

He jumped, startled, and whirled around. There was no one in sight. "Paul?" a small voice asked from somewhere near Paul's knees. He looked down, and to his surprise, he saw Mary.

"Why, hello there, little miss," said Shock, kneeling down to shake the little skeleton girl's hand. "What's your name?"

Charmed, Mary looked down at her feet bashfully. "I'm Mary Skellington, ma'am," she said. "Paul's my big brother. Are you his wife?"

Shock laughed. "No, I'm not. My name is Shock." As Shock had expected, Mary's eyes filled with fear.

"You're Oogie's kid, right?" Mary asked, slowly backing away, into Paul's legs.

Shock nodded, and looked up at Paul pleadingly. He bent down and scooped Mary off the ground into his arms, holding her at an angle that forced her to look up at him. "Shock's good, Mary. Just pretend that she's just like Janey."

Mary's face screwed itself into one of her comical expressions of puzzlement. "But Janey's not that nice."

Both Shock and Paul laughed. "Pretend that I'm nicer than Janey," Shock suggested, taking Mary from Paul's arms.

Her eyes scanned Shock's face, and then Mary grinned. "You're a lot nicer than Janey." And then to the surprise of both Paul and Shock, Mary promptly fell asleep.

"Where'd she come from?" Paul asked, suddenly worried. "Everyone was asleep when I left the house."

Shock looked towards the town. "It looks like they still are. Perhaps she had a bad dream," she speculated, but Paul shook his head.

"Mary can sleep through anything, and she's never had a bad dream. I have a bad feeling about this," he said, taking Mary from Shock. As he shifted her into his arms, she popped her bony thumb into her mouth and sucked on it contentedly, and without a word, Paul led the way out of the cemetery. "I have to take her home," he said apologetically. "Do you want to come too?"

Shock nodded, understanding Paul's predicament. "Sure."

They walked to Paul's house in silence, and when they reached the gate, Paul sharply inhaled. The front door was open, and as he opened the gate, he realized that there was a light on in the kitchen. As Shock followed him into the house, two figures watched them from the kitchen.

"It's a bit late to be out, isn't it Paul?" the taller one asked. The light was dim, and Paul couldn't even tell where the speaker was, but as the front door slammed shut, the lights grew brighter. The speaker stepped out into the light, and Paul bit back a scream as he backed into the staircase, keeping Mary in his arms. "What's wrong, Shock? I thought you'd be happy to see your big brother. I didn't get to see you at all tonight," Lock said, approaching his stunned sister.

"What in the name of Halloween are you doing here?" Paul demanded furious, his voice low. "And where the ghasts is my family?" He deposited Mary safely on the steps and took a step towards Lock.

"Shut up, boy," Lock ordered, giving Paul a mighty shove. Paul went flying across the kitchen, slamming into the stove, banging his head on the floor. Shock gasped and tried to run to him, but Lock caught her wrists and pulled her close to him. "Why are you sneaking around with that pile of bones?" he demanded, squeezing her wrists tightly as his eyes flashed dangerously. "Have you forgotten what we swore to do when our father was killed by his?"

Shock gasped as Lock continued to apply pressure to her wrists. Through her teeth, she responded, "Jack's family has done nothing wrong, Lock."

Lock released her wrists and slapped her face, hard, sending her reeling over to the kitchen table. "You have betrayed your oath! You must die along with the rest of them!"

"Brother! Please, think about what you want to do. The town will have you killed!" Shock said, nursing her left cheek.

"I'm afraid that it's too late for that, Shock. You're going to die with the rest of the Skellingtons," Lock said. He walked over to the stairs and shouted, "Are you almost ready, Barrell?"

Dimly, they could hear Barrell reply, "Whenever you are, Brother dearest!"

Lock grinned and then approached Shock. "Now, you can come with me or I'll make you wish you had."

She spat at him, hitting the tip of his pointed tail. "No."

"Fine then." And with that, Lock fell upon Shock, slamming her head against the floor, knocking off her pointed witch hat and sending her into welcome blackness. He slung her over his left shoulder and then managed to get Paul's limp body upon his right.

He climbed up the twisting stairs to the floor where there was an empty, windowless room. Barrel was waiting for him. "They're all in here, Lock," he said as Lock threw Paul into the room. "Isn't that Shock?" Barrel asked as Lock tossed her in after Paul.

Lock shook his head. "It's some witch that Paul was canoodling with," he said. "She does resemble Shock, now that you mention it…"

Barrel shrugged and closed the door. Locking it securely, he followed Lock downstairs and out the front door. With a gleeful cackle, Lock lobbed a large burning torch into the open house, and with in seconds, a satisfying wave of smoke billowed out the door.

"Let's go, brother," Lock said, slinging an arm around Barrel's shoulder and walking away from the soon-to-be inferno.

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_Sorry this one's so short, but I have to go write those essays. Please, review and I'll get up the next chapter as soon as you do. _


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